Four teams from Jackson County remained unbeaten on this young prep football campaign, each by registering pretty comfortable wins.
Also, the number of unbeaten teams after three weeks of action in the “Southern Six” dwindled by one, to a half dozen overall, while there are still a quartet of teams in our coverage area that are still looking for their first win of the season.
Here are seven things we noticed in the “Southern Six” Friday night:
- Staying perfect: Ocean Springs remained unbeaten by easily handling win-less George County 36-0 at Greyhound Stadium. The Greyhounds celebrated their first home game of the season by jumping out to a quick and commanding first half advantage, as Will Smith raced for a pair of scoring scampers while Bray Hubbard and Bryshen Smith also scored on the ground. Ocean Springs rushed for almost 400 yards on the night, moving to 3-0 with its 13th straight regular season win, as Smith topped 200 yards rushing and Hubbard finished with over 150 yards on the ground.
- Staying perfect (the sequel): Homestanding Picayune, the defending Class 5A state champion, held off a scrappy Gulfport squad in a battle of unbeatens 21-7 as Chris Davis tallied a pair of scoring runs and Dante Dowdell added another rushing score as well. The Maroon Tide moved to 3-0, and in the process dropped the Admirals to 2-1 on the year. Gulfport did get a scoring run from quarterback Jacob Palazzo.
- Staying perfect (the trilogy): East Central stayed the course under new head coach Sam Huff with a 35-20 road win over South Pike. Eli Smith ran for three touchdowns, while Grey Bradley and Josh Weaver each had a scoring scamper apiece as the Hornets moved to 3-0. Smith carried the ball 38 times for a career-high 304 yards and the three scores.
- Rocky IV: Resurrection, under first-year head coach Eric Denmark, moved to 3-0 as well with a 20-7 win over visiting Stringer. Daniel Pickens ran for 125 yards and two touchdowns, and he also caught a scoring strike from Max Askew in the winning effort.
- Rocky V: 2010 was a pretty historic season for Vancleave on the gridiron, and for the first time in 12 seasons the current brand of Bulldogs are also 3-0 after a 35-26 win over win-less Moss Point Friday night. The John Peterson show continued for VHS, as the talented tailback ran for 287 yards and three touchdowns. Bulldog quarterback Hunter Parker accounted for a pair of scores, running six yards for one and connecting with Layton Eder on a 13 yd pass for another touchdown.
- Are you kidding me?: For the first time in its 14 year history of playing football, West Harrison has started the season with three straight wins. The Hurricanes, under the guidance of head coach Quincy Patrick, nipped St. Helena (La.) on the road 47-46 Friday night, and that followed wins to begin the season over Bay High (28-7) and Southeast Lauderdale (37-0).
- Bouncing back: A pair of Gulf Coast teams bounced back with big wins coming after off losses last week. St. Martin got superb performances from quarterback D.K. Jenkins (three touchdown tosses) and receiver/safety Noreel White (three touchdowns scored/one interception) as the Yellow Jackets beat visiting West Marion 48-20. Meanwhile, visiting Hancock got a productive outing from its backfield as tailback Zachary Gallung ran for 186 yards and two touchdowns and fullback Jeffrey Hopgood rambled for 143 yards and three touchdowns in an impressive 44-22 win over Greene County.
